Ann-Margret Says ‘Speed’ Keeps Her Going at Age 82: ‘Not the Drug!’ (Exclusive)

At 82, actress and singer Ann-Margret isn’t slowing down – in fact, she’d like to go a little faster.

“I like speed,” says the Long live Las Vegas and Bye, bye, little bird actress. “Not the medicine.”

Think actual miles per hour. Speaking to PEOPLE at the 25th Women’s Image Network Awards at the Saban Theater in Beverly Hills on Wednesday, the avid biker says she “of course” still rides her Harley Davidson.

“It’s lavender and it has white daisies all over it,” she says. “There are flowers on the back and front fenders. I like speed.”

However, on Wednesday she took some time to slow down and reflect on her life as she accepted WIN’s Living Legend Award.

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“I am so blessed. I just can’t believe what has happened to me. I didn’t expect that. Never,” she continues.

Elvis Presley and Ann-Margret in ‘Viva Las Vegas’.

Silver Screen Collection/Getty

Born Ann-Margret Olsson in Sweden in 1941, the future performer moved to the US as a child with her parents. She started dance lessons early and proved that she has a sense of fun.

“I remember wanting to be in show business all my life,” she says. “And I remember saying one day to my mother and father, ‘I want to talk to you. It’s a very, very important thing for me and I want to get into show business.’” The Olssons supported me.

By day, Ann-Margret studied speech at Northwestern University; at night she performed club performances with her jazz combo The Suttletones.

After heading west to Las Vegas and Los Angeles, Ann-Margret (who had by then dropped her last name) was discovered by the famous comedian George Burns, who gave her a spot in his Las Vegas holiday show at the Sahara.

Ann-Margret in ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’.

American Broadcasting Corporation via Getty

It was a hit, and soon Hollywood also announced. Her role in 1963 Bye, bye, little bird made her a star before she performed with Elvis Presley (her former lover) the following year Long live Las Vegas.

Philanthropist Wallis Annenberg, who presented Ann-Margret with the Living Legend Award, touched on the star’s achievements in her speech.

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“Legend means you didn’t just share the screen with Elvis Presley, Jack Nicholson and Jack Lemon, you dominated it. And it’s not their performances that are talked about decades later, but yours. With five Golden Globes, an Emmy and two Oscar nominations to prove it,” she said.

“Legend means that even though you’ve shared the screen with some of the sexiest and most desirable men of the last century, you keep your life private, discreet, your own,” she continued. “No wonder Hedda Hopper once called you the new Garbo of Hollywood. It’s no wonder that your proudest achievement is your 50-year marriage to your wonderful and beloved husband, Roger Smith, no less in Hollywood, where a five-year marriage beats the odds.”

Ann-Margret in 1980.

Denis Plehn/American Broadcasting Corporation via Getty

Later in the speech, Annenberg referred to the Ann-Margret age.

“When you get to 80, people want to dip you in bronze and put you on a shelf somewhere, legend or not,” she said. “But why collect dust on the shelf when you’re still young and vital and ready to rock?”

“Why ease into the night when you can ride your lavender Harley until sunrise and be your own damn woman?” she continued. “If I had my way, the word legend in the Oxford English Dictionary would be accompanied by a picture of our celebrant.”

The Women’s Image Network is dedicated to “promoting dimensional female media images that promote the value of women and girls,” according to its website.

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Source: HIS Education